Title: Angels in a Cage: Chapter Seventeen, Completely Captivated
Rating: PG-13 [language]

Summary: Chris returns to Alyssa's coffehouse again.






Sleeping late on a Saturday morning was not that weird for Alyssa, especially when she worked the night before. But Judith had never cared for it and snuck into her older sister’s bedroom around nine in the morning. She sat on the floor near Alyssa’s bed, staring up at her, hoping to silently wake her. Groaning Alyssa did wake and turn over, presenting her back to her sister.

“Aly?”

“Go away, Judith. I’m still sleeping,” she murmured.

“But we’re supposed to go to the Seattle Center today,” Judith proclaimed.

“We will. Later. They’re open until five and I have to work at four. Don’t worry. We’ll get there.”

“But, Aly, if we don’t go soon, we won’t get to see it all!” Judith whined.

Alyssa rolled over, her gold-tinged eyes going down to her sister, “Judith, give me another hour at least. You know I didn’t get home until late last night. Just one hour more.”

“When did you get home?”

“After midnight.”

“But you’re supposed to be home by midnight,” she pointed out.

“Yes, well, I had to drop a friend off who does not really live that close to here first. Don’t worry, nosy girl, Daddy was up when I got home and I explained it to him,” Alyssa proclaimed. “So just let me sleep a little bit longer.”

“Daddy said we might get a dog.”

She sighed and threw back the blanket, pivoting out of bed, “Judith, come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’re going downstairs to bug Mom. I’m going back to bed,” she pulled her sister up.

“But we’re going to the Seattle Center today!”

“Later, Judith!” she shoved her sister out the door and closed it quickly.

Two steps back towards her bed Alyssa stopped. Tilting her head slightly, she could just barely make out Judith’s sobs. Sighing, she turned back to the door. She never wanted to upset her sister; she just wanted to sleep a bit longer. Opening the door back open, she reached for Judith and embraced her.

“Come on, little one. Lay down with me and tell about all the things I’ve missed this week,” she guided her sister over to her own bed. “Did anything happen at school?”

“No, not really,” she responded and laid down on the bed next to her sister, cuddling up against her. “Did anything happen for you this week?”

“Well…” she smiled. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Ooooh. Secrets! I love secrets!”

“You can’t tell anyone. Not Mom. Not your best friend. Not anyone,” Alyssa declared. “Promise?”

“Oh yes, Aly. I won’t tell anyone. Not no one,” Judith vowed.

She leaned her head towards her sister’s and whispered, “I met someone last night. Someone very special.”

She gasped, “Is this someone the reason you were home late?”

Chuckling at how perceptive her sister was, Alyssa responded, “Yes, he was.”

“HE!?”

She nodded and touched her sister’s nose, “His name is Chris. And if you’re lucky and really good, I’ll let you meet him some day. But you can’t tell anyone about him at all.”

“Is he like that Chris guy who sings those songs you like?”

Alyssa flushed, “He’s even better than him.”

“Really? I hope he stays good, Aly. No more bad guys for you,” Judith stated. “Or I’ll kick him in the shins.”

She smiled, “Oh it’s a good thing I have you on my side then, little one. A very good thing. You want to know what we did last night?”

“DID YOU KISS!?”

“No. No, we did not. We did hold hands though. And we went on a ferry ride.”

“Ooooh. Tell me everything, Aly. Everything.”



He hadn’t slept at all that night. While some would blame the fact he drank a lot of coffee late at night, Chris could not fault the caffeine. He really did not think it had anything to do with the stimulant. It had everything to do with the girl he had spent hours with. She was everything he had ever dreamt of, everything his wife was not. She was kind and sweet and oh how her smile lit up his world. It was wrong to covet her. After all he was married. But Chris could not help himself. When he lay down on the bed in the guest room with two of the dogs, not about to attempt sharing a bed with Susan that night, all Chris could think about was Alyssa. He replayed every minute of their interaction over in his mind; from their simple getting-to-know-you questions to how soft her hand felt in his flew through his thoughts.

With the sun rising, though hidden by a bank of April clouds, Chris once more attempted to sleep. He needed to be fresh when he saw her later, never mind the fact he would be post practice. He could not drag his feet into her café and expect to make the same impression he had the previous night. But had it been a good impression? He really was not sure. Perhaps she had only spent time with him after the shop closed because she was afraid of the former boyfriend who… well Chris was not sure what the ex-boyfriend had done, only that it was enough to warrant a restraining order. That was another reason to get some sleep. He needed to be prepared to fight off any asshole who attempted to hurt his Alyssa.

His Alyssa. How the fuck could he claim her as his own when they had only spent an evening together? Because he had not felt such an instant connection with anyone before. That alone was reason to do whatever he could to keep her in his life. Maybe they were only meant to be friends, but real true friends were few and far between now that his life has blown up publicly. He wasn’t even certain he could trust his wife any more. No, wait. He was certain he could not trust his wife any more. She was only in it for the money and the prestige, not for him or his happiness. Somehow Chris just knew Alyssa would do better than Susan, loads better. Hell she listened to him. And that alone was odd. He and Alyssa were meant for something greater.

Fuck. If he didn’t get to sleep soon, he would have to roll out of bed and head downtown to practice without any sleep. That alone did not bother him. Meeting with Alyssa afterwards without any sleep did. What would they do after she got off work? He thought perhaps the coffeehouse was open a bit later on Saturdays, but that didn’t necessarily mean she had to close. Other people had to work there. That made a slight difference in what they could do. Perhaps he would take her to his favorite bar and… and what? Show her his favorite place to get so fucking pissed that he passed out in the booth? No, that was not a good idea at all. They could… walk places, just wander about downtown for awhile and see what came up. That was as good of a plan as any. But he needed to sleep first. He really needed to sleep first.

“Go to sleep, Chris,” he chided himself. “Just a few hours would be enough.”

However that was not meant to be, apparently. The dogs suddenly jumped off the bed and a moment later the bedroom door swung open. His banshee of a wife stood in the doorway. Her appearance did not belie her attitude at all. Susan wore a conservative yet almost flattering suit jacket and skirt. Her hair had been pulled back from her face, making her face seem far more angry to him – or maybe that was just because she always looked at him in anger nowadays.

Draping his arm across his eyes, Chris muttered, “Leave me alone. I’m trying to sleep.”

“Of course you are. That is exactly what I would be doing too if I had to be somewhere in an hour to sign papers,” Susan declared, approached the bed, and pulled the single blanket off of Chris. “Get out of bed, Chris. We have to be downtown in an hour.”

“Why?” he shifted his arm slightly to glance up at her.

“Because you and the rest of the band have paperwork to sign for the upcoming tour. You know that, Chris.”

“We can do it later,” his arm rolled back down to cover his eyes.

“You cannot because this is the only time today the promoter has for Soundgarden. If you don’t sign today then the band cannot tour,” Susan declared.

“I’m quite all right with that,” Chris responded. “Touring sucks.”

“Touring paid for the car in the garage,” she claimed. “Get your ass up and moving. We need to leave in the next ten minutes.”

Grumbling Chris rolled out of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, not that he had slept at all. He would do whatever it was Susan wanted of him, but only because it would mean she would leave him alone for the rest of the day, perhaps even the rest of the weekend. Maybe he could even convince her to not come home that night and… and what? Bring Alyssa back there? No. It was much too early for that. He would just not come home himself until the wee hours of the morning. Susan wouldn’t care if she even noticed. He would do her biding now. Later he would be a free man.

Luckily Susan drove them to the meeting. This allowed Chris a few minutes to snooze in the car. It was not even a full half hour, but if he managed to get in a nap after the meeting, he would be at least somewhat refreshed when meeting with Alyssa that night. Of course he would be in a coffeehouse, so he could easily remedy any sleepiness. And Alyssa did make really good coffee. He might just give up booze for her coffee. Was that too stalker-like? Was he going to take the place of her former boyfriend? No. No, he wasn’t. He wasn’t going to become that guy. They would spend some time together that night, until she was off work and then he would walk her to her car and make sure she was safe and that was it. Nothing more. He would play it cool and calm and collected and let things happen naturally. At least that made sense while he pressed his face to the cool glass window and attempted to sleep.

“Did you sleep at all last night, Chris?” Susan spoke up.

“Leave me alone,” he retorted.

“Answer the question.”

“Well I fucking can’t get any sleep with you talking to me,” he responded.

“Chris,” she warned.

“I got in late and no I did not get any sleep. There. Satisfied?”

Susan sighed, “Were you out with the guys again?”

Somehow that seemed like a better answer than ‘no. I was with a pretty, cute, sweet little thing’ so Chris responded in the affirmative. Lying to his wife was no longer an issue, nor was it difficult any more. It came with the territory of being married to someone one no longer wished to be. Maybe now it would be easier to divorce her.

“Chris?”

Fuck. She had asked him something and he completely tuned her out. He was fucked.

“Just let me sleep a bit, Suze. I’ll sign the damn papers when we get there,” he responded, figuring that was a good enough answer to whatever she asked.

“You’re not listening to me.”

“That would be because I’m trying to get some fucking sleep.”

She sighed, “Fine. But we’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Five minutes is better than no minutes.”

Half an hour later, Chris signed the tour papers and left the office with the rest of the band. The official plan was to head back to the hole in the wall rehearsal space they had rented. Chris’s real plan was to curl up on the dingy couch located there and sleep for a couple of hours. They really didn’t need to practice something they had finished recording not long before. And he really did not feel like mixing the album or anything that day. It was fucking Saturday. Didn’t they get a weekend?

“Out all night?” Kim asked, glancing at the tired singer.

“Not really. Only until about one. But I couldn’t sleep after that.”

“How come?”

“No real reason,” Chris responded, not wanting to let Kim in on his little secret… crush.

“Uh huh.”

“Really.”

“You can lie to your wife, but you can’t lie to me. I spend more fucking time with you than she does.”

Yawning, Chris shook his head. He was not going to give into Kim. Not that day.

“Come on, man. Tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Fuck you, Cornell. Fuck you,” he responded, though he was grinning. “How about we blow off practice and go get a beer instead?”

“How about we blow off practice and you take me home so I can get some sleep instead?” Chris countered.

“Seriously, man?”

“Yeah.”

Kim stared at him for a minute, “All right. But if I do that, you have to tell me why you didn’t sleep last night.”

“You were already hoping to get me drunk to tell you.”

“Was not.”

“Whatever.”

“Tell me and I’ll take you home and tuck you into bed. If you’re lucky I’ll even tell you a bedtime story,” Kim stated.

Chris smirked, “I met someone last night.”

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” his dark eyes went to Chris. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Well it’s about fucking time. I swear you have been a fucking monk… well perhaps since I’ve known you or since you’ve known Susan,” he stated. “Tell me, did you get some last night?”

“No. And drop it right now,” Chris instructed.

“What? Why? This is good shit, Chris,” Kim responded, turning in the opposite direction of the rehearsal hall.

“Because I’m not going to tell you anything else.”

He sighed, “Fine, fine. I’ll let it go for now. But damn, man, it’s about fucking time.”



While she had a wonderful and fun time with her sister at the Seattle Center, Alyssa was ever so worried that she would be late to work. Of course she could have merely gone to work looking as she did, they likely wouldn’t care. But the fact of the matter was that Chris would be there that night. Hell had she known he would be there the night before, she probably would have spent more time getting ready then as well. But then again, what difference did it make? He had liked her when she put no effort into her appearance – or at least minimal effort into her appearance. She really should not be worrying about it. And yet she was. Standing in front of her closet wearing only her bra and panties for an extended period, she sighed. Nothing was quite right.

“Hey, Aly?” Judith walked into the bedroom. “Why don’t you have any clothes on?”

“Close the door, Jude,” she responded, glancing at her sister before returning her focus to the matter at hand. “I can’t decide what to wear.”

“Aren’t you just going to work?”

“Yes, but he’s going to be there.”

“Ohhhhh,” the younger girl responded before sitting down on Alyssa’s bed. “Then you should wear the dress you bought last weekend.”

“You think so?”

“Oh yes. You look beautiful in it,” she declared.

Pulling the dress off the hanger, Alyssa pulled it over her head and quickly buttoned the small buttons up the front. Deciding against wearing leggings or even tights, especially since her legs were currently bruise free, she pulled on a pair of short cotton bike shorts, just in case the skirt flipped up accidentally. Winking at her sister who was bubbling about how much fun they had that day, she headed into her adjoining room to fix her hair and makeup. Judith jumped up from the bed and began to shift through Alyssa’s jewelry box, still bubbling about the day.

When Alyssa appeared a few minutes later, Judith squealed and handed her jewelry over, “You look wonderful, Aly! He’s soooo going to fall in love with you!”

Alyssa froze for a moment, staring at her younger sister, “You think so?”

“I know so,” she proclaimed. “How can he not? You’re only the best sister in the whole world. And you’re beautiful. And you’re smart. He’s going to fall so hard for you, Aly. I just know it.”

Smiling crookedly, Alyssa quickly fastened the offered necklace and earrings, “Let’s not pin our hopes on too much, Jude. I only met him yesterday.”

“Did he make your tummy tingle?”

Thinking about it briefly as she headed over to her closet to pick shoes, “I… yes. Yes, he did.”

“Well then there you go,” Judith proclaimed. “I get to be in your wedding right?”

“Judith!” Alyssa’s head snapped up. “I’m only fifteen. There will be no weddings. Not for a looooong time.”

“Oh I’m so excited for you, Aly!” she clapped once, bouncing slightly. “You will tell me everything right?”

“Well… maybe not everything, but a lot of it,” she winked. “I gotta hurry to the coffeehouse now. And I’m going to be out late again, so don’t you wait up. We can talk about it tomorrow, okay?”

“But, Aly!” she whined, following her sister out of her room.

“Tomorrow, Judith. Tomorrow.”

Within minutes of entering work, Alyssa was pounced upon by Donna. The slightly older girl begged and pleaded for Alyssa to close that night, claiming she had some hot date she merely had to get to. Though she had been expecting it and was oddly all right with it, she remained silent and moved about the coffeehouse, doing the work Donna had not done in the two hours she had already been on shift. Repeatedly the girl came up to Alyssa and asked her to cover.

“Please, Alyssa! We can even play your music tonight!”

Her eyes went to her co-worker as she weighed that option. Did she really want Chris’s music to be playing when he showed up? Was he really going to show up? She could play something else instead. She did own other music. But she also did not want to seem like a pushover just because Donna was going to play her music. It didn’t matter that she wanted to work late, not in the least.

Alyssa sighed, “What time did you want to leave?”

“Really?” her eyes brightened.

“What time, Donna?”

“If I could leave at seven thirty that would be fantastic!”

“Four hours early? Are you kidding me?” Alyssa retorted, her eyes flicking to the door as it opened and a regular entered.

“Please, please, please, Alyssa,” she begged. “I’ll do anything.”

She sighed, “Fine. But you’re going to have to cover an entire weekend for me soon.”

“Oh?” her interest was suddenly piqued. “What could you possibly have to do on a weekend now that you’ve gotten rid of that creepy guy?”

Alyssa scowled, “I do have interests and friends, you know? I just spend all my time covering your shifts so I never get to do anything with them.”

“I hate to interrupt this conversation, girls, but can I get my coffee?” the customer who entered a moment before asked.

“Yeah, Stan. I’ll get right on it,” Alyssa responded, smiling at him. “I’ll be right over.”

“I still don’t get what the big deal is all about. You’ll get a bigger paycheck,” Donna grumbled.

“Jesus, Donna. I already said I would do it, okay?” she stated before setting to make Stan’s drink. “I’ll do it.”

Because of their early altercation, the shift was tense. Alyssa stayed as far from Donna as possible, doing chores in the back office or checking on customers at their tables. When the other girl said her goodbye, she sighed in relief and instantly relaxed. The next few hours would be so much nicer.

And oddly empty. The regulars drifted out around nine and no one else wandered in. She was basically alone, really alone. Not expecting that in the least, Alyssa had not brought a book or homework or anything to fill her time with. What was she going to do for the next two hours until she closed? She supposed she could clean up now and then just spot clean in the event anyone did walk through her doors. Where was Chris?

The bell jingling behind her as she swept instantly drew her attention. Before she could even think to temper it, a smile lit up her face. Their eyes met and her heart flipped. He was there.

“Hi,” Chris stated softly. “Sorry, I’m… where is everyone?”

“I was wondering that myself a few minutes ago,” Alyssa replied, still smiling. “I haven’t had a customer since the couple left twenty minutes ago. Usually we’re pretty busy on Saturday nights.”

“Maybe you could close early?”

She shook her head and turned to put the broom away, “I would have to call the owners to get the okay to do that. It’s not really worth it. Besides then I would have to explain why I’m here now and that is not a conversation I want tonight.”

“You weren’t supposed to be here?” he asked, following her towards the counter.

“I was supposed to be off at eight,” Alyssa stated.

He frowned, “Then I would have missed you.”

“I would have waited around for you,” she responded, slipping around the counter.

“You would have?”

Her eyes met his, “Yes. Are you okay? You look tired.”

“Fuck,” he muttered. “Do I?”

“I would offer you some caffeine, but I don’t know that it’s such a good idea. Did you sleep at all last night, Chris?”

His eyes held hers. How the fuck did she know? Was he that transparent? Or did she just see beyond his façade so easily? He was torn. Did he deny it, even though it was the truth or did he admit he couldn’t sleep because he kept thinking about her eyes?

“No,” he uttered. “I didn’t.”

She frowned, “Why not?”

Here was his moment of truth, “Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Her mouth dropped open, her eyes going wide. Chris could not have just said what he had. That was not possible. There was absolutely no reason a young girl such as herself should keep someone like him up at night. She was nothing special; he was everything special. If anything she was the one who should have been sleepless last night, not him. It didn’t even remotely creep her out, like it might have had someone like Zack said the same to her. Chris was… Chris was…

“Alyssa?”

“Why… why would you be thinking about me?” she managed to whisper.

“Come out from behind the counter,” he instructed, holding his hand out to her.

Her hand slipped into his and she obeyed. Eyes flicking briefly to the door, Alyssa prayed that no one would interrupt this perfect moment. Chris headed towards the door at first, intending to pull the curtain down and lock the door, but then thought against that. He did not know if her bosses would know he closed up shop for her or not. Instead he turned and led her to the table he sat at the previous night. He only released her hand when they slipped into chairs opposite each other. His eyes looked directly into hers, his lips twitching into a smile.

“I cannot explain it, but you, Alyssa, have completely captivated me,” Chris admitted. “I laid awake all night trying to think of things I wanted to ask you and what your possible answers could be. I wondered so many, many things.”

“But I’m just a girl who served you coffee last night.”

“Do you honestly think if you were ‘just a girl who served me coffee last night’ that I would have even returned? I can’t explain it in the least, but there’s something else here. Maybe it will turn out to be nothing. Or maybe it will turn out to be the best thing to ever happen in my life. I don’t know. But I am not willing to play the what if game. Not anymore. So tell me, Alyssa, are you game?” he asked softly.

Her eyes held his as long as she could, still not believing that he could possibly want to explore anything with her. She was just a girl; he was a rock star. No, he wasn’t. Chris was far more than just a rock star. And as she looked into his eyes, she knew he was. For that brief moment, she saw her future in his eyes.

“I… You need a drink, something to keep you awake if you’re going to be spending time getting to know me tonight,” she declared, moving to stand.

“No,” his hand covered hers, keeping her seated. “Just being around you is enough stimulant for me.”

Alyssa smiled crookedly, “And what will your friends say?”

“Fuck ‘em. I don’t care,” he responded.

“And your wife?”

Chris broke eye contact with her briefly, “She is my wife only in name, Alyssa. Not in influence by any means of the word. I have not truly had a relationship with her, other than a working one, since the band got big. As long as it does not affect her professionally, Susan will not care at all.”

“Do you intend to tell her about me?”

Again his eyes left hers as he considered his options before returning to meet her gaze, “I will do whatever you deem necessary. If you think it wise to keep us secret from everyone and their dog, then we will. If you wish to meet everyone in my life, I’ll throw a fucking party. Whatever you think is best.”

Her eyes looked around the empty coffeehouse briefly before settling back on him, “I think initially we should keep it to ourselves, no outside influences.”

“As you wish,” he inclined his head slightly.

Alyssa abruptly pulled her hand free, instantly making Chris worry. A moment later the bell chimed at the door and the young woman rushed away from him. Shifting the chair so he could easily watch her from afar, he smiled slightly to himself. He had meant everything he said to her. Whatever it took to make her smile, to keep her around, he would do. How the little woman had affected him so much by just a mere few hours, he did not know. But oh how he was ready for this adventure. He felt like his entire life had been leading up to it. This was good. This was true. This was it



With no more customers after the one who so rudely ended Chris’s conversation with Alyssa – or so he thought – clean up at closing time took very little time at all. The pair brushed out of the café before 1130, though Alyssa certainly was not going to claim such on her timesheet. She had already called her father and explained to him she took Donna’s shift again. As he already knew that she had some plans with someone, though she had not explained who the friend was, Howard increased her curfew until 2 am. Alyssa was tickled.

“So…” she strolled down the alley with Chris, “what should we do now?”

“Where are you parked today?”

“Same place as yesterday,” Alyssa answered, flushing slightly. “I thought perhaps you would be here again, so I wasn’t too worried about running into… you know.”

Chris smiled slightly at that, “Well we could just walk around for awhile and see what strikes our fancy. Or we could maybe catch a midnight movie.”

“Let’s just walk,” she answered quickly.

Figuring her quick response had something to do with the stalker-guy, Chris nodded. Silently they left the alley and began to stroll down the street. He really had no destination in mind but before long he realized they were heading down to the wharf. Strolling along the waterfront with the pretty girl was an ideal activity in his mind; far better than slogging in a bar, surrounded by noisy people, loud music, booze and smoke.

Actually he wouldn’t mind a smoke right then.

“Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked.

“Only if you share,” Alyssa responded.

Digging out his cigarettes, he paused to shake one out and light it. Taking a single puff, he held it out to Alyssa. Watching her insert the small white stick between her curvy lips was about as intimate as he figured he would be able to get with her, but he certainly enjoyed it. She inhaled twice before handing it back.

“You didn’t really strike me as a smoker,” Chris commented, picking the stroll back.

“I’m a social smoker,” she responded. “Only do it when someone else around me is, though not always then either. It’s probably been a month since I last smoked.”

“God I wish I could say the same,” he responded. “I probably smoke too damn much. Or so Susan tells me. She’s just afraid of what it could do to my voice.”

“Well, that is something to consider,” Alyssa reached for the cigarette.

“Yeah, I guess. But I don’t feel like it does anything to my voice, so why give it up?”

“When was the last time you really exerted yourself though?” she handed it back.

“I’m not sure that I follow.”

“Well it does affect your lung capacity, you know. I bet if you quit you wouldn’t get winded when you… ran a marathon or something,” Alyssa said.

Chris laughed, “Because I was so planning on running a marathon soon.”

“You never know,” she shrugged, turning down an empty pier.

He instantly turned with her, after pausing to grind out the cigarette in an ashtray. Rather than keep stride with her, he lingered back a couple of feet, in order to watch her move. He wondered if she was conscious of the way her hips swayed or if it was just her natural gait. His eyes flicked down her legs to her shoes, smiling at how they probably weren’t the most reasonable shoes to wear at a job where she was on her feet all shift. Had she dressed up for him or did she normally choose fashion over practicality? The chocolate brown dress she wore reached about mid-thigh and he couldn’t help but think how it was the perfect shade of creamy milk brown, that it likely complimented her eyes just as much as it played with her hair color. In that very moment, he wanted to turn her about and stare into her gold-flecked eyes, see if he could get the golden hues to spark even more. Even from behind she was beautiful, an ideal hourglass. Could it be? Could he be falling for someone he only met the day before? He certainly had never felt this spark with any other woman before and he thought any after would not touch him either.

“Alyssa?” he caught up to her as she stopped at the end of the pier.

Her eyes turned to his and she smiled. Chris knew in that very moment, with the moonlight casting a soft, silvery glow upon her, the city lights faintly adding their own harsh toned light to the scene, she was it. Everything in the world felt right in that moment, everything. He could weather any storm, any trouble, anything. This was it.

“Chris?”

“I… Alyssa, I don’t want to come across as some creepy guy who… fuck, I don’t know what to say except: you have completely transfixed me. I don’t know what it is about you, I really don’t. But I finally feel like… I’m home,” he admitted softly.

Her eyes wavered slightly as his lips stopped moving. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’tbelieve it. Love at first sight surely did not exist, but he was more or less claiming that he felt that with her. It did not exist. It could not exist. And most certainly Chris did not feel that way towards her. She was just a girl – a fifteen year old girl. He was mistaken, confused, something like that. It could not be true.

“Chris… I… I’m flattered but I don’t think what you want to believe is true. I’m just a girl, nothing special. I’m not your… whatever,” she breathed. “I’m not. I’m just a gi –”

Before she could finish her argument, Chris leaned forward and kissed her. His lips brushed her ever so softly, ever so briefly. She gasped in shock; he reached up and caressed her cheek. Instinctively, Chris leaned forward to kiss her once more, but she quickly leaned away.

“Chris, you can’t do that,” she muttered.

“Why not?” he did not move away.

“Oh there’s a million reasons why you can’t,” Alyssa declared and pulled away from him.

“Name five.”

Her eyes shot to his, “Really?”

“Yes,” he held her gaze defiantly.

“You’re married, we just met, you’re famous, you don’t even know me, you’re married,” she quickly replied.

Chris quickly found that he could not really argue against any of those. Her reasons were logical, sane, and rational. But love was not often any of those. And if this was love – why shouldn’t it be – then they did not need to function by those rules. He didn’t want to. He wanted to hold them up and toss them over the banister into the Puget Sound. He would re-write every rule in the book to be with her. And that was a dangerous thought alone if he really thought about it.

“Alyssa,” he stated calmly, “all of those that you say are true. I cannot deny it, nor should I even try. But can you honestly say that you do not feel something?”

Her large eyes remained on his for a moment before she turned away to face the water, “And how do you know if I say yes it is not because I already know and love your music?”

Chris leaned against the railing next to her, “Because you would not pose such a question if it was so strongly linked to that.”

Glancing sideways at him, she questioned, “How can you trust me so readily? Are you not worried that I’m going to sell you out or something?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I cannot explain it. I cannot explain any of this. Maybe I am a bit delirious after not sleeping last night, I don’t know. But I do know that there is something here, something to discover and things of that nature together. Can you honestly say that you don’t feel something?”

She turned fully towards him, “No, I can’t say that I don’t. But I don’t know what it is. I do know that I know the public Chris, the one written up in magazines and interviewed on MTV. I do know that last night I got to see the private Chris, the one who wishes he could curl up in a café anywhere and be anonymous. And when you let me in to see that version of you, I nearly forgot about the face you show everyone else. Yes, I am intrigued by you as well, but I will not risk you or myself for some fanciful dream. We can be friends, Chris. In fact I would like that. But I don’t think you should be looking at me for anything more than that. Not with the current circumstances. Maybe I’ll change my mind over time or situations will change; I don’t know. But I’m not going to risk a lot of people’s lives just so I can say I kissed Chris Cornell.”

He reached up and touched her cheek, “That statement alone makes me want to kiss you even more. It’s like you’re looking fame right in the eye and just shrugging. I haven’t had anyone do that for or around me for… fuck, a long time. It’s weird and refreshing and…”

“You can’t conflate the fact I’m treating you like the normal man you are with some greater emotion. You’ve only known me for something like twenty-four hours. It’s just not… reasonable.”

“Not everything in life is reasonable, Alyssa.”

“Maybe not. But one of us clearly needs to be,” she turned back to the water. “I can see you on Fridays and Saturdays. Those are nights I generally work the late shift. I don’t work Sundays and I rarely work during the week because of school.”

“Can I call you?”

“No,” she instantly replied, glancing at him again. “Not yet. I know you want to pursue whatever our connection is right away and as much as possible, but I think tempering it will be good in the long run. I don’t want to rush in where angels fear to tread because that’s when mistakes are made. And in your case, a mistake could end your career and–”

“I don’t give a fuck about my career.”

“Sure you do,” she interjected. “Regardless, the answer is I’m not giving you my number. No one at the café will give you it either, so don’t try asking. And, Chris, I need you to promise me something.”

“Anything, Lyssie.”

Her heart briefly stopped at the new nickname, loving the way he said it.

Shaking her head slightly, she stated, “Do not kiss me again. Do not kiss me until I say you can.”